Photo Galleries

“This little imp, about 10, showed up at our door,” recalls Joan Shaw, then in her 20s and living with her parents in the borough of Preston, 180 miles from London. “We had to take him in. We had no choice. And he was a booger (American translation: snot-nosed kid). Food was being rationed, especially sugar. And the little booger put salt in our sugar bowl. Glad to be rid of him when the bombing ended.”

How ironic that for the rest of her life – and considering her resilient English constitution it might just eclipse the century mark – Joan Shaw Moffett created an environment of softness, kindness and giving as a long-distance mother for children on three continents, the last of whom has never used an adjective like ‘adopted' when referring to her.

“She is my mother, period,” said Leyla Lombana Lopez, 55, from Bogota, Colombia, via Skype a month ago. Her mother, period, Joan Shaw Moffett Rueda, 91, beamed on the other end of the connection, chatting and directing traffic as she lounged in her Inland Greens condo in Wilmington.

“One reason I believe in God is because He gave me such beautiful parents,” Leyla said.

That would be Joan and her husband, Ralph Moffett, who began supporting Leyla in 1968, when Leyla was only 10, and living on the edge of poverty on the streets of Bogota. And that also would be Juan Rueda, who Joan first met while he played the guitar at St. Mark's Church, and then married in 1992, seven years after Ralph had passed away and she had moved to Wilmington.

Rueda, a Colombian native, made the bond even stronger as he and Joan financed careers not just for Leyla, but also for Leyla's children, helping with tuition for two sons, one who became a doctor and another a dentist, as well as a daughter, Laura Camila, 19, now in law school.

Juan Rueda seems ecstatic just to be part of this fairy tale.

“This is our story of love,” he said excitedly.

Reunited at last

That love was in full bloom Tuesday afternoon as Leyla, her husband, Alberto, and their daughter Laurita piled out of Rueda's sedan to visit with Joan for the first time in the United States since 1978. After turning 55, as a female in Colombia Leyla began drawing retirement benefits, and there was no question in her heart that she should spend the extra funds to buy tickets for the long flight.

Joan's health has been fragile recently, and getting out of bed proved difficult as the family huddled at her side. But no signs of illness could be seen as hugs, tears and declarations of love were shared by all, including the family dog, Lucky, who jumped on the bed to join the party.

“All three of you at one time, it's unreal,” Joan said. “I never thought I'd see you again.”

Circling around Joan's bed with hands held, the family shared bilingual Our Father and Hail Mary prayers moments after the long-awaited reunion.

“The world would be a lot easier place if everyone spoke English,” Joan joked moments later with characteristic wit.

The family was quickly joined by Leyla and Alberto's sons, Sergio and Danilo, via Skype, conversing by way of a camera attached to a long cable Juan stretched from the family computer across a hallway into the bedroom.

Juan, juggling the needs of his wife with the appetites of three weary travelers who hadn't eaten all day, buzzed at a frenetic pace between phone calls, pointing out sleeping arrangements and snapping photos.

“The Lord made this happen,” an upbeat Juan said in a tone that almost concealed his exhaustion. “It's really an incredible thing, I'm very proud we could make this happen.”

Early adoption

As the German bombing receded, in 1943, and Churchill said it was not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning of WWII, the Americans, including Ralph Moffett of Saluda, S.C., had arrived in England. Moffett was a gunner in a B-17 that bombed the Nazis in retaliation.

The airmen trained and prepared in England, and it was engaging young ladies like Joan Shaw – photos of her in her early 20s show a wide smile bordered by flowing red hair – who met up with the American GIs and danced to Glenn Miller tunes in public ballrooms. Her luscious red hair did not suffer in wartime.

“They rationed food, not shampoo,” she remembers.

Joan and Ralph began courting. He visited her parents and enjoyed picnics in the countryside. They became smitten.

But then he never returned from a late bombing mission over Belgium in late 1943. And she didn't hear from him for almost a year. That actually was fortunate. When Ralph's mother, back in the States, heard from the War Office, it notified her of Ralph's death. Weeks later, his mother got another telegram via Western Union: “Disregard previous. Son alive, but a prisoner of war.”

What the telegram didn't say was his location: His POW camp was the notorious Stalag 17 in Austria.

Back in England, Joan received just one note from Ralph, in 1944, about his interment, and after war ended in 1945 he was shipped home. They began corresponding again and early the next year she got a letter from Ralph, now safely settled back in the South, that asked her to join him there, and become his wife.

“I said goodbye to my parents and flew to New York City, and then got trains down to Atlanta,” she said, unable to hide a bit of twinkle. “The compartments on all the trains were filled with just me and a bunch of returning GIs. I got lots of marriage proposals!”

She made it to Atlanta unhitched, and married Ralph. They moved to Greensboro, where he became a successful salesman and they had a home on the golf course in the tony Sedgefield development. It was in the 1960s that they concluded they couldn't have children, so, via programs sponsored by the Catholic Church, they decided to select and support needy children overseas. Their parishes provided the details, and the Moffetts connected with children in Italy, Indonesia, and finally, in 1968, South America.

“That was our first daughter,” said Joan. “Usually, after high school, the long-distance relationship ends, especially financially. But with Leyla, it was different. I helped this little girl avoid poverty – and we were going to be there forever.”

A lifelong bond

Ten years later, when Leyla, then 20, came to Greensboro to visit with Joan and Ralph, they urged her to stay. They cringed when Leyla spoke of the rampant poverty back home, telling them about children eating garbage in the street, and the pickpockets, and the beggars.

But like Joan, more than 40 years earlier, Leyla had someone special to go to, returning to marry her sweetheart, Alberto Sanchez.

“Joan and Ralph were fine with that, although sad she couldn't stay,” Juan said. “But do you know what Joan did? She gave Leyla her diamond earrings to take back to Bogota, and Leyla and Alberto sold the diamonds back home and used the money to buy her wedding ring.”

As Leyla and Alberto raised their children into professional careers, Joan's, and now Juan's, support never wavered, emotionally or financially.

“When I was little I never dreamed anything like this would be possible for me,” said Leyla today. “I never thought I become such a beautiful daughter to someone, and maintain it. For something so spectacular to happen to me because of Joan, and Ralph, and Juan. It's difficult to imagine.”

But it has not been difficult to repay her mother, period, with love and kindness.

She hosted Joan and Juan to her home in Bogota in 2011 to celebrate Joan's 90th birthday. Alberto enclosed the patio to make a room for Joan and Juan. At a birthday fiesta, Leyla had white ponchos made for all the guests, each sporting a color photo of Joan, still at 90 with bright red hair, although shorter.

And now this return trip for Leyla and her family.

Juan, the former concierge at the downtown Hilton, has been worrying over logistics for weeks. He lined up people to stay with Joan while he ran up to the Raleigh-Durham Airport to meet the flight from Bogota Tuesday morning.

“I am not just Joan's husband, but also her caregiver,” said Juan, who married Joan when he was 45 and she was 70.

“And now my sweetheart turns 92. She said she is the biggest cougar in town.”

Juan also worries that Joan's nagging ailments, associated with her age, might mean this could be a final meeting between Joan and Leyla.

“Nonsense,” Leyla said. “People thought that when they came here to Bogota in 2011. I have much faith – this will not be the last time I share my happiness with my mother.”

<p>During the World War II Blitz, when German bombs rained down on London, Winston Churchill ordered children out of the city and into the countryside to find safety in the homes of strangers.</p><p>“This little imp, about 10, showed up at our door,” recalls Joan Shaw, then in her 20s and living with her parents in the borough of Preston, 180 miles from London. “We had to take him in. We had no choice. And he was a booger (American translation: snot-nosed kid). Food was being rationed, especially sugar. And the little booger put salt in our sugar bowl. Glad to be rid of him when the bombing ended.”</p><p>How ironic that for the rest of her life – and considering her resilient English constitution it might just eclipse the century mark – Joan Shaw Moffett created an environment of softness, kindness and giving as a long-distance mother for children on three continents, the last of whom has never used an adjective like 'adopted' when referring to her.</p><p>“She is my mother, period,” said Leyla Lombana Lopez, 55, from Bogota, Colombia, via Skype a month ago. Her mother, period, Joan Shaw Moffett Rueda, 91, beamed on the other end of the connection, chatting and directing traffic as she lounged in her Inland Greens condo in Wilmington.</p><p>“One reason I believe in God is because He gave me such beautiful parents,” Leyla said.</p><p>That would be Joan and her husband, Ralph Moffett, who began supporting Leyla in 1968, when Leyla was only 10, and living on the edge of poverty on the streets of Bogota. And that also would be Juan Rueda, who Joan first met while he played the guitar at St. Mark's Church, and then married in 1992, seven years after Ralph had passed away and she had moved to Wilmington. </p><p>Rueda, a Colombian native, made the bond even stronger as he and Joan financed careers not just for Leyla, but also for Leyla's children, helping with tuition for two sons, one who became a doctor and another a dentist, as well as a daughter, Laura Camila, 19, now in law school.</p><p>Juan Rueda seems ecstatic just to be part of this fairy tale.</p><p>“This is our story of love,” he said excitedly.</p><h3>Reunited at last</h3>
<p>That love was in full bloom Tuesday afternoon as Leyla, her husband, Alberto, and their daughter Laurita piled out of Rueda's sedan to visit with Joan for the first time in the United States since 1978. After turning 55, as a female in Colombia Leyla began drawing retirement benefits, and there was no question in her heart that she should spend the extra funds to buy tickets for the long flight.</p><p> Joan's health has been fragile recently, and getting out of bed proved difficult as the family huddled at her side. But no signs of illness could be seen as hugs, tears and declarations of love were shared by all, including the family dog, Lucky, who jumped on the bed to join the party. </p><p>“All three of you at one time, it's unreal,” Joan said. “I never thought I'd see you again.”</p><p> Circling around Joan's bed with hands held, the family shared bilingual Our Father and Hail Mary prayers moments after the long-awaited reunion. </p><p>“The world would be a lot easier place if everyone spoke English,” Joan joked moments later with characteristic wit. </p><p>The family was quickly joined by Leyla and Alberto's sons, Sergio and Danilo, via Skype, conversing by way of a camera attached to a long cable Juan stretched from the family computer across a hallway into the bedroom. </p><p>Juan, juggling the needs of his wife with the appetites of three weary travelers who hadn't eaten all day, buzzed at a frenetic pace between phone calls, pointing out sleeping arrangements and snapping photos. </p><p>“The Lord made this happen,” an upbeat Juan said in a tone that almost concealed his exhaustion. “It's really an incredible thing, I'm very proud we could make this happen.”</p><h3>Early adoption</h3>
<p>As the German bombing receded, in 1943, and Churchill said it was not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning of WWII, the Americans, including Ralph Moffett of Saluda, S.C., had arrived in England. Moffett was a gunner in a B-17 that bombed the Nazis in retaliation.</p><p>The airmen trained and prepared in England, and it was engaging young ladies like Joan Shaw – photos of her in her early 20s show a wide smile bordered by flowing red hair – who met up with the American GIs and danced to Glenn Miller tunes in public ballrooms. Her luscious red hair did not suffer in wartime.</p><p>“They rationed food, not shampoo,” she remembers.</p><p>Joan and Ralph began courting. He visited her parents and enjoyed picnics in the countryside. They became smitten. </p><p>But then he never returned from a late bombing mission over Belgium in late 1943. And she didn't hear from him for almost a year. That actually was fortunate. When Ralph's mother, back in the States, heard from the War Office, it notified her of Ralph's death. Weeks later, his mother got another telegram via Western Union: “Disregard previous. Son alive, but a prisoner of war.”</p><p>What the telegram didn't say was his location: His POW camp was the notorious Stalag 17 in Austria.</p><p>Back in England, Joan received just one note from Ralph, in 1944, about his interment, and after war ended in 1945 he was shipped home. They began corresponding again and early the next year she got a letter from Ralph, now safely settled back in the South, that asked her to join him there, and become his wife.</p><p>“I said goodbye to my parents and flew to New York City, and then got trains down to Atlanta,” she said, unable to hide a bit of twinkle. “The compartments on all the trains were filled with just me and a bunch of returning GIs. I got lots of marriage proposals!”</p><p>She made it to Atlanta unhitched, and married Ralph. They moved to Greensboro, where he became a successful salesman and they had a home on the golf course in the tony Sedgefield development. It was in the 1960s that they concluded they couldn't have children, so, via programs sponsored by the Catholic Church, they decided to select and support needy children overseas. Their parishes provided the details, and the Moffetts connected with children in Italy, Indonesia, and finally, in 1968, South America.</p><p>“That was our first daughter,” said Joan. “Usually, after high school, the long-distance relationship ends, especially financially. But with Leyla, it was different. I helped this little girl avoid poverty – and we were going to be there forever.”</p><h3>A lifelong bond</h3>
<p>Ten years later, when Leyla, then 20, came to Greensboro to visit with Joan and Ralph, they urged her to stay. They cringed when Leyla spoke of the rampant poverty back home, telling them about children eating garbage in the street, and the pickpockets, and the beggars.</p><p>But like Joan, more than 40 years earlier, Leyla had someone special to go to, returning to marry her sweetheart, Alberto Sanchez.</p><p>“Joan and Ralph were fine with that, although sad she couldn't stay,” Juan said. “But do you know what Joan did? She gave Leyla her diamond earrings to take back to Bogota, and Leyla and Alberto sold the diamonds back home and used the money to buy her wedding ring.”</p><p>As Leyla and Alberto raised their children into professional careers, Joan's, and now Juan's, support never wavered, emotionally or financially. </p><p>“When I was little I never dreamed anything like this would be possible for me,” said Leyla today. “I never thought I become such a beautiful daughter to someone, and maintain it. For something so spectacular to happen to me because of Joan, and Ralph, and Juan. It's difficult to imagine.”</p><p>But it has not been difficult to repay her mother, period, with love and kindness.</p><p>She hosted Joan and Juan to her home in Bogota in 2011 to celebrate Joan's 90th birthday. Alberto enclosed the patio to make a room for Joan and Juan. At a birthday fiesta, Leyla had white ponchos made for all the guests, each sporting a color photo of Joan, still at 90 with bright red hair, although shorter.</p><p>And now this return trip for Leyla and her family.</p><p>Juan, the former concierge at the downtown Hilton, has been worrying over logistics for weeks. He lined up people to stay with Joan while he ran up to the Raleigh-Durham Airport to meet the flight from Bogota Tuesday morning.</p><p>“I am not just Joan's husband, but also her caregiver,” said Juan, who married Joan when he was 45 and she was 70. </p><p>“And now my sweetheart turns 92. She said she is the biggest cougar in town.”</p><p>Juan also worries that Joan's nagging ailments, associated with her age, might mean this could be a final meeting between Joan and Leyla.</p><p>“Nonsense,” Leyla said. “People thought that when they came here to Bogota in 2011. I have much faith – this will not be the last time I share my happiness with my mother.”</p><p>Mother, period. </p><p>Additional reporting by staff writer <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9919"><b>Paul Stephen</b></a>.</p>